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Son of The Farm's Peter Hooton jailed for £1.3m Encrochat operation Covert texts identify The Farm singer's son as £1.3m drugs boss
(about 2 hours later)
Police found Thomas Hooton had a County Lines drug supply to criminals across the UK Police found Thomas Hooton supplied drugs to criminals across the UK
The son of the lead singer of the band The Farm has been jailed for running a drug operation which spanned the UK. A drugs kingpin who ran a UK-wide operation has been jailed after police discovered his identity through encrypted messages he sent to his contacts about his famous father.
Police discovered the identity of Thomas Hooton, 30, from encrypted messages he exchanged with organised criminals about his musician father, Peter. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Thomas Hooton used the messaging service EncroChat to deal drugs worth about £1.3m and discuss his father Peter, the lead singer of indie stalwarts The Farm.
He used the messaging service EncroChat to deal drugs with a wholesale value of around £1.3m, the National Crime Agency said. The 30-year-old, of Victoria Road West in Crosby, Merseyside, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine at Liverpool Crown Court.
Hooton, of Victoria Road West, Crosby, Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine and was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail. He was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail.
Hooton was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine and brokered "high level deals", Merseyside Police said. The NCA said Thomas Hooton was involved in the supply of 93lb (42.5kg) of cannabis, 7lb (3.25kg) of heroin, 22lb (10 kg) of cocaine and 2lb (1kg) of ketamine and brokered "high level deals".
He had messaged 41 different contacts under the name Ownraptor on EncroChat, the force said. A force representative said he had messaged 41 different contacts under the name Ownraptor on EncroChat, a messaging service that was infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce.
Detectives found he had a county lines drug supply operation which ran to Scotland, the north east and the south of England. Detectives found he had a drug supply operation which ran to Scotland and England's North-East and South.
'Criminal reach''Criminal reach'
Police said one of the key details to discovering Thomas' identity was a picture of his father with the Champions League trophy sent via EncroChat. Police said one of the key details to discovering Thomas' identity was a picture of his father with the Champions League trophy, which had been sent via EncroChat.
He also spoke in the messages about driving a black Audi A3 and that his "arl fella'" arranged his insurance for him. He also spoke in the messages about driving a black Audi A3, stating that his "arl fella'" arranged the insurance for him.
Official checks showed Peter Hooton insured a black Audi A3 for his son Thomas. Official checks showed Peter Hooton, whose band had eight top 40 singles and a number one album in the 1990s, insured a car of that make and model for his son Thomas.
The encrypted chats also revealed he was in possession of about £400,000 and owed others £258,000. The encrypted chats also revealed Thomas was in possession of about £400,000 and owed others £258,000.
Det Chief Insp Lynsay Armbruster said: "It's clear Hooton was involved in organised crime for a long time before he was charged. Speaking after sentencing, Det Ch Insp Lynsay Armbruster said it was clear Hooton was "involved in organised crime for a long time before he was charged".
"His criminal and geographical reach will have taken considerable time to establish. "His criminal and geographical reach will have taken considerable time to establish," she said.
"His drug supply operations were on an almost daily basis, they were sustained and spanned the UK working with high-level criminals.""His drug supply operations were on an almost daily basis, they were sustained and spanned the UK working with high-level criminals."
EncroChat was infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce.
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